Lifestyle Makeover Series I

Lifestyle is directly congruent to your body and how far it can last you in life. You may be 22 however your body age may be 40 due to diet, lifestyle and environment. Conversely, one can manage their bodies so well that their bodies could confuse time i.e. a 50 year old can have a body that reads biologically as a 35 year old. Right now your body age may differ dramatically from your chronological age. In that case it’s time for a lifestyle makeover.

A healthy body, soul and mind were seen by Ancient Greeks as the determinant to the Perfect Man. They believed that developing your body was as important as developing your mind. As popular as Greeks are for mythology do not mistake these ideas as mere myth. Great truth is contained in them. Homosapiens are tripartite beings composing of 3 different parts to themselves – heart, body, soul – which are interconnected and interdependent. Do you know that a broken heart can result in a person’s death? Heartache can lend to high blood pressure and in turn to heart disease which may lead to immobility or even worse death. Depression can lead to a panic attack which can lead to emphysema and ultimately to terminal death. Case in point: the heart, body and soul work congruently.

It’s not enough to put cologne or smart fancy clothes when you are consuming foods that are clogging your arteries one bite at a time, or to be so racked with unhealthy emotions and debilitating mindsets yet to commit your energies to changing your hairstyle on the regular where you should be rather t working at maintaining emotional soundness. Holistic living is the key that will unlock the door to living a long and fulfilling life. I racked my brain for tips and lessons that I have accumulated via health magazines and various literatures which give valuable information on how you can live a long, healthy and fulfilling life. These ideals are principles I live by:

Tips towards a healthy heart

Keep a journal of your thoughts. One needs to constantly offload. Journaling frees your soul and can in turn expand your creativity.

Never keep grudges. If needs be talk to the person who has stirred anger, hurt or disappointment in you, more especially if that person is in your life to stay e.g. sibling, colleague.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Train your mind to not dwell on negativity or on things that you cannot change like your past.

Jog as often as you can, ideally every day. Jogging pumps oxygen to the heart which clears your blood vessels. Also jogging releases endorphin hormones known as ‘happy hormones’ and these babies release creativity and productivity.

Eat less (bad) fats. High cholesterol is bad for the heart resulting in shortage of breath, choked lungs and heart disease. Use olive oil instead of sunflower oil. Stop obsessing about frying and no matter what they tell you fast food is not food!

Love yourself to a happy healthy heart. Love is an action word. Start to do acts of love e.g. cooking lunch for your mum, taking sincere interest in your classmate or your colleagues or saying ‘hi’ to the person next to you in the taxi. Love is known to heal the heart.

Laugh yourself to a happy healthy heart. Spend time with your wacko friends or watch stand-up comedy. Laugh your way through life. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.

DANCE. This is one of life’s best hidden secret. Dancing releases stress and has a re-energising effect. Listen to music that makes your body move. Go out dancing if you can. I promise you it works.

Never sleep angry (this point goes hand in hand with point 2). It has been proven that when you sleep with a reconciled heart you wake up with a good attitude towards life than when you go to even bitter. Anger is a cancer beware of it even nightmares may arise from it, lol!

These are my tips to a healthy heart. Share some of your own if you will.